Reviews

“These are the noise results collected during our Crysis temperature runs. Remember how we said NVIDIA was using the fact that they launched after AMD in order to claim that they had a quieter cooler? This is the proof. The GTX 590 simply embarrasses the 6990 here; it’s not even a contest.
If NVIDIA can dissipate 350W+ of heat while at the same time making 5-7dB less noise, then it starts to become clear that AMD’s design has a serious weakness. The ultimate question is what did NVIDIA do right that AMD did not?”

“In a comparison between GeForce GTX 590 versus Radeon HD 6990, NVIDIA wins. And it wins because I can put a GeForce GTX 590 in my workstation, which doubles as my gaming machine, and not hear it. It’s quiet enough to use. And that’s a requisite.”
“We get the sense that [AMD] drivers aren't yet as ready for quad-GPU operation, despite the almost three-week head start its team has on NVIDIA’s launch. Two 6990s in CrossFire aren't even able to start the Lost Planet 2 benchmark before crashing to the Windows desktop.”

“Here's the eye-popping result of the day. Although the GTX 590 draws more power than the Radeon HD 6990 under load, it still registers as roughly 10 decibels quieter than the Radeon on our sound level meter. Subjectively, the difference is huge. The 6990 fills the room with a rough hissing sound, while the GTX 590 isn't much louder than an average high-end video card. Even when it's overclocked, the WICKED 590 is quieter than the stock 6990 by a fair amount.
Its true distinction, in our view, is its wondrously soft-spoken cooling solution. The GTX 590's cooler is vastly quieter than the boisterous blower on the Radeon HD 6990. Combine that acoustic reality with the GTX 590's shorter 11" board length and understated appearance, and a sense of its personality begins to take shape.”

“The design on the GTX 590 is also better than that of the Radeon HD 6990 in my opinion as it is not only better looking and smaller (thus fitting into a larger array of systems and chassis) but quieter even while using more power. For those of you that aren't noise junkies that might not matter but keep in mind that a 10 dB difference is a HUGE amount in a logarithmic scale - a difference of 10db equates to a sound about twice as loud.”

“We can see that NVIDIA’s approach of a compact yet potent cooling design with a centrally mounted 80mm fan is definitely paying dividends. The GTX 590 is downright silent for a dual GPU card and even gives the normally quiet GTX 580 a good run for its acoustical money. Even the HD 6970 – AMD’s flagship single GPU card – is louder.
The GTX 590’s real accomplishment is the feeling of refinement that it exudes. Unlike the HD 6990, its VRMs don’t squeal like a scared piglet and fan noise is kept to an absolute minimum. The fact that its svelte 11” length will fit into a wide variety of cases should also make it in vastly more appealing than the behemoth AMD is currently saddled with.”

"The GeForce GTX 590 is noticeably quieter than the Radeon HD 6990, and also allows for triple-monitor surround gaming from a single card, somewhat negating the Radeon’s Eyefinity capabilities. And the GTX 590 also offers support for PhysX and a wide range of CUDA apps that the Radeon can’t. This has historically been the case for GeForce cards, but now with the dual-GPU powered GTX 590 there is more flexibility and obviously more performance to enable all of these things without too adversely affecting framerates. Two of the games we feature in our benchmark suite, for example, Metro 2033 and Just Cause 2, arguably looks more realistic on the GeForce due to its support for PhysX and some other CUDA related features."

“Enthusiast gamers demand The total package, they want to enter the battle with the best possible weapon to enjoy their total gaming experience. It makes no sense to sacrifice performance for “EyeCandy”. If you wish to succeed, you will need a “Tank Killer” so you don’t get caught with your pants down while your video card is sputtering to generate acceptable frame rates. The NVIDIA Geforce GTX 590 is the answer when the tank gets bogged in the mud.”

“In the thermal performance, the GTX 590 delivered numbers lower than the HD 6990 in both the stock and overclocked load testing.
NVIDIA has built the card no one thought possible, making it perform well and hitting the marks for its design with a cooler, quieter operation, all while being less power hungry. It looks like a win for the lime green team.”

“The lack of fan noise and the tame GPU temperatures were very impressive to us during testing. We saw the GeForce GTX590 get into the low 80C's during game benchmarking with the fan on auto and that was a bit of a shock considering what hardware is on this card.
With stereoscopic 3D, PhysX and tons of CUDA applications this card should be on the short list to buy if you want the ultimate in single card performance.”

“When I reviewed the AMD Radeon HD 6990 for the launch event two weeks ago, I genuinely liked the card's ability to produce unmatched performance using the sheer strength of two top-end GPUs. NVIDIA answered back with a product just as powerful, but refined so many of Gemini's smaller details that the scales now tip in their favor.
But unfortunately for the Radeon HD 6990, modern graphics cards are capable of a lot more than simply producing frame rates. Consumers are looking at supplemental features, such as stereoscopic 3D functionality, graphical enhancements, affordable multi-display possibilities, broad software support, and stable drivers. NVIDIA 3D Vision, APEX PhysX, The Way It's Meant to be Played developer support, surround support with inexpensive DVI monitors, and Forceware drivers all deliver these things. AMD's solutions are either not widely supported (DisplayPort), unpopular (AMD HD3D), or lack affordable integration (Eyefinity).”

“The NVIDIAGeForce GTX 590 has impressed us in many ways, including its extremely quiet operation during full load, reaching only 48dB(A), as compared to the GIGABYTE Radeon HD 6990's 58dB(A) at full load.
NVIDIA proved that it is possible to incorporate 3GB of memory and two GF110 GPUs on a single PCB while keeping the card only 11 inches long (compared to the full length 12.2 inch HD 6990). The length of the AMD card is especially discouraging to customers who use mid-tower enclosures, as very few mid-tower cases have the requisite 310mm clearance. The Zalman Z9 Plus, a case with specially designed high PCI-E slot clearance, has only 300mm, meaning it would fit the GTX 590 but not the HD6990.”

“In conclusion, the GTX 590 is a very elegant graphics card which boasts performance that rivals, and at times even exceeds that of the HD 6990, but it does so at quieter noise levels. Additionally, the GTX 590 natively supports technologies such as 3D Surround out-of-the-box, and the GPUs can even be configured to best fit the user’s demands. All of these along with the $699 price point make it an excellent option for any high-end gamer willing to shell out top dollar for a serious gaming solution.”

“NVIDIA’s GTX 590 is much faster than the GTX 580 and it wins more benches than it loses to the HD 6990.
NVIDIA’s superb quiet cooling is a real winner and it is the single greatest difference that sets it apart from its competitor.
NVIDIA’s highly efficient cooler is great for achieving and keeping your OC by keeping your GPU cool. It is one awesome cooler that tames GTX 590′s thermals very quietly, even at full load.”

“Looking at the two heavyweights from NVIDIA and AMD, the tale of the tape shows the GTX 590 will beat the Radeon 6990 in just about every facet, from gaming performance and temperatures to noise levels and power consumption.
There's also the ability now to run 3D Vision Surround on three monitors with only one card rather than two in SLI.
There's also the bit about PhysX being available on the NVIDIA cards, and if you're a Folding @ Home disciple, then the GTX 590 is a juggernaut.”

"With all of the talk about how the acoustics were on the GTX 590, we were looking forward to finally getting to this point in our testing. Come to find out, NVIDIA was not blowing smoke, in fact the GTX 590 decibel levels are 5th best in our list of cards that we have tested.
This is great news considering the fact that the fan is having to cool two GPU’s compared to the other cards’ one GPU."
“The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 can take its spot on top of the podium for being the fastest single card solution on the market.
As we have mentioned before, this card was built with the extreme user in mind and not the average gamer. The dual GF110’s performed great in our testing overall. They completely smashed almost every game that we tested.”